Citadel Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK)

Citadel Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK - Free Report) by 41.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,075 shares of the bank's stock after selling 13,664 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.35% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina worth $596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PEBK. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,590 shares of the bank's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the 4th quarter valued at about $85,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,366 shares of the bank's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 35.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,649 shares of the bank's stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the 4th quarter valued at about $296,000. 43.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ PEBK traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $27.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 994 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,505. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.74 and a 52-week high of $33.31. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $27.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.04 million, a P/E ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 0.63.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 12.85%. The company had revenue of $20.47 million during the quarter.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Profile

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and small-to medium-sized businesses. It offers checking, savings, money market, and retirement accounts; certificates of deposits; and credit and debit cards.